


Underneath a soft pink sky

by ScottieIsImpatient



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Everyone is Dead, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Suicide, i was sobbing while writing this, this is a death fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScottieIsImpatient/pseuds/ScottieIsImpatient
Summary: "I lost nearly everyone I cared about... on that ship." - Malcolm Reed, Shuttlepod One.As it turned out, Malcolm was wrong that time.But this time he's not.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	Underneath a soft pink sky

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me this morning and I couldn't function until I wrote it. As it stands, I'm extremely proud of it.  
> I also hate myself now :')  
> Jk
> 
> Trigger warning: please please PLEASE don't read if you're feeling suicidal. While not graphic, this story DOES include this. If you believe you can handle it, proceed with caution. And remember that I love you <3

There is no one left for him.

The explosion has long since dissipated, but Malcolm still stands frozen, staring up at the soft pink sky. It reminds him of the sunsets on Earth. For a moment, he is teleported to another place; another time. One overflowing with joy and content.

And then reality slaps him in the face.

Malcolm doesn’t know when he began hyperventilating. He doesn’t know when his legs began to shake, nor when his grip on the scanner had slipped.

He falls to his knees, still staring at the sky.

_“I lost nearly everyone I cared about… on that ship.”_

The words he spoke to Trip on Shuttlepod One so many years ago float back.

_“I lost nearly everyone…”_

The EV suit is suddenly suffocating. Malcolm pulls at the fabric around his chest, trying to lift some of that weight so he can breathe.

The planet’s sun is beginning to hurt his eyes. Malcolm tells himself he’ll look away on the count of three.

He counts to three.

He takes a deep breath.

But he just can’t seem to tear his gaze away.

Suddenly too weak to support his weight even kneeling, Malcolm crashes rather unceremoniously onto his behind. The world spins. Black spots obscure his vision, and Malcolm is sure he’ll pass out.

Unfortunately, his brain decides to remain conscious.

_What a joke._

Malcolm doesn’t know how long has passed. It could have been five minutes; it could have been five hours. He has no way of knowing and finds he doesn’t much care.

_“I lost… everyone…”_

It doesn’t seem real. Some part of him expects to wake up, safe and sound in his quarters. He knows this is unrealistic. Never again will Malcolm wake up to the sound of his intercom chirping. Never again will Malcolm sit at his station. Never again will Malcolm hear the hum of Earth’s first warp five engine.

Scanners had shown no nearby ships, so they’d sent down their team. A MACO, two ensigns, Hoshi, and Malcolm. Simple recon, nothing more.

Never again will Malcolm assume the safety of a location.

The vessel was of foreign origin. Not even the Vulcan database had any record.

It fired the first chance it got.

 _“Transport everyone up,”_ the captain’s desperate voice shouted through Malcolm’s earpiece. T’Pol’s voice floated through next, informing him that the transporter had taken a hit. They could only bring in two at a time.

 _“Get everyone else up first,”_ Malcolm said.

For once, he wishes he had been selfish. Maybe then he would have been spared this hell.

 _But then,_ he thinks, _someone else would have taken my place._

Finally, Malcolm finds the strength to move his eyes away from the sky. They settle straight ahead, on the rolling hills in the distance.

 _“Similar to Earth,”_ Hoshi’s voice, now nothing but a ghostly memory, whispers.

Malcolm’s breathing has begun to quicken again. Fresh tears leave streaks down his face; his hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat.

It had happened so quick. One minute, Enterprise was there. A faint glint in the pink sky. The next, Malcolm’s earpiece was filled with a shrilling cry.

And then the faint glint exploded.

The cry turned to static; a sound Malcolm won’t soon forget.

He is full on sobbing now. His shoulders twitch and heave with every gasping breath, his hands shaking and clenched into fists to his chest.

“I lost everyone…”

He says it out loud this time.

_Captain Archer, T’Pol, Hoshi._

Their names sound like accusations in his mind.

_Travis, Phlox, Ensigns Meng and Tanner._

He is surprised how many of their names he can remember.

_Cutler, Novakovich, Naiman, Fletcher._

He lists them all. Every single crewman, ensign, senior officer, and MACO who ever served on board.

And finally, he gets to the name he’s been dreading.

_Trip._

A sob catches in his throat and Malcolm is lunged into a coughing fit. The tightness in his lungs has returned. Unconsciously, his hand reaches for his hair, but of course the helmet is in the way.

He isn’t sure how exactly he manages to calm down. Perhaps it’s the resentment he feels towards himself for allowing himself to break, or perhaps it’s the memory of Trip’s Southern drawl saying, _“keep yer shirt on, Lieutenant.”_

Never again will Malcolm hear his friend’s voice.

It is this thought which snaps something inside him. With shaking hands, he reaches for the clasp that holds the helmet to the rest of the suit.

 _“Coward!”_ his own voice cries. _“Bloody coward! This is a desperate man’s way out!”_

But this moment, Malcolm Reed is a cowardly, desperate man.

There is a hiss as the helmet disconnects. He is aware of the familiar feeling that is his lungs begging for oxygen, but this time, it is not his panic. It is real.

Malcolm barely has time to remove his helmet before the atmosphere gets to him. He collapses onto his side, convulsing, frantic gasps escaping from his lips. Already, he can feel his consciousness slip away.

His eyes shut on their own.

 _Coward!_ the inner voice shrieks again, but it’s growing fainter.

“I am a coward,” he whispers aloud. If anyone were there with him, they would be horrified to discover that he’s smiling.

Malcolm Reed dies alone on a strange planet, underneath a soft pink sky.


End file.
